Had Spider-Man arrive via rental and played the opening couple of hours and sent it back.
It is good but I kind of feel like I have played it before, combat felt a little clunky too. I will go back to it and pick it up nearer to Christmas, I do love Spider-Man generally but don't seem to be in the mood for it!.
Assassins Creed probably has not helped as I have started messing about on the ships now and I have never got bored of playing it. Up to level 10 played 8 or 9 hours. Firing volleys of arrows at a boat, ramming it then boarding and doing a ''this is sparta!'' kick sending someone into the sea infested with sharks never fails to amuse me.
Whatcha Been Playing?
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
You’d think the spartan kick ability would get old after 50 or so hours.
It does not.
The game knows this and so has the AI go stand on cliff edges with their backs to you, tempting you to break cover and deliver them a kick.
Then you die cause you’re not sneaking anymore and half the game world is trying to stab you.
It does not.
The game knows this and so has the AI go stand on cliff edges with their backs to you, tempting you to break cover and deliver them a kick.
Then you die cause you’re not sneaking anymore and half the game world is trying to stab you.
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
I'm still absolutely loving AC:Od, my favourite third person kinda game this year, vastly prefer it to GoW. Twenty five hours now, loving every minute and miraculously not yet bored.
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
Oh man, this was one of my favourites on Pinball Arcade, what a great table! I never really liked Pinball FX as it feels too artificial for me (says someone who has never played a real table) but I've had a quick look at the demo and it looks great.
Hmmm.
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stvnorman
- Member
- Posts: 911
- Joined: March 19th, 2013, 8:09 pm
- Location: Keysoe, Bedfordshire, UK
- Contact:
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
I watched a developer video where they compare the ball physics to the real life Williams tables and it seems pretty good. I played the demo first and was sold instantly. Feels great to me!
I got to Mega Man 1 Dr Wily in three sittings over the last couple of days. Unlike my recent playthrough of Mega Man 2, where I had no idea there was an optimum boss order until I went back to the C&R podcast after I’d finished, this time I looked it up first and made more regular use of the Legacy Collection save states. Was much easier that way than the hell I went through before! I’ve just finished the first Dr Wily boss which really ramped up the challenge though. Hope that’s as bad as it gets!
I got to Mega Man 1 Dr Wily in three sittings over the last couple of days. Unlike my recent playthrough of Mega Man 2, where I had no idea there was an optimum boss order until I went back to the C&R podcast after I’d finished, this time I looked it up first and made more regular use of the Legacy Collection save states. Was much easier that way than the hell I went through before! I’ve just finished the first Dr Wily boss which really ramped up the challenge though. Hope that’s as bad as it gets!
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
The ball physics in FX3 seems vastly improved to FX2. There's a lot more weight to it.
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
Continued my long abandoned playthrough of Hellblade, because I want to listen to the CaR podcast on it. This game can be quite the tense, heartpounding experience, especially with headphones on. If the theming isn't straight up horror, then it's certainly horrifying at times. I think I'm about three quarters through, at this point. Taking a break.
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
So I plugged in the PSVR for the first time this year and downloaded the Astrobot demo (it is hidden in the demo section of the ps store rather than an option if you search for the game).
Really glad I did, a simple platformer but brim full of charm and fun ideas. It also looks stunning for a VR game. I will be picking it up.
Going to start an Assassins Creed thread as I made a decision last night and need to know what other people did.
Really glad I did, a simple platformer but brim full of charm and fun ideas. It also looks stunning for a VR game. I will be picking it up.
Going to start an Assassins Creed thread as I made a decision last night and need to know what other people did.
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Joshihatsumitsu
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
According to my receipt from PSN, I bought Valkyria Chronicles II on 28th March 2016, and as of this week I started playing it on the Vita.
Primary observation: John Dimaggio's voice is a very familiar voice to my ears.
Rumour has it the first game is better, and if I purchase it now I may get to play it in a few years time!
Primary observation: John Dimaggio's voice is a very familiar voice to my ears.
Rumour has it the first game is better, and if I purchase it now I may get to play it in a few years time!
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
Over the last week I’ve been in the routine of three games, which is nice I think and I’m enjoying bouncing between them all.
During my nice little break to Amsterdam of which I only took my 3DS, I played some games of an evening and during my time in the airport, I also managed to pick up a few Streetpasses on the occasion I threw my 3DS into my bag on our jaunts around the city.
I’m still playing Super Princess Peach and I’m into the last world, I’ve not collected all of the toads from each of the levels mind and still have quite a number of items to buy still in the shop. Once I’ve beaten the last level, I’m going to dip into the mini games and puzzle pieces I’ve been unlocking while progressing through the game and see what that is all about.
It's a very strange game, it feels like a game from a much older time but with slightly more modern elements sort of bolted on and the way they handle Peach and her actions is odd to say the least. It’s fun though and Perry, her Parasol, is fun. Almost a precursor to Shovel Knights shovel.
I was sure getting some funny looks on the plane playing this mind, as its very bright, very pink and very princessy – I didn’t GAF though.
As well as this I’m also very much enjoying playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf again, this time more in the sense of a quick half an hour each day before bed. We’ve also taken advantage of the Nintendo Selects range and picked up another copy of the game from Argos for £13.99 which my wife is playing on her 3DS and we’re chatting and playing with each other. Incidentally, I have friend who has just bought a 3DS for the first time and is playing through a few recommendations but has latterly set up camp playing New Leaf, so in effect we have a bit of a 3-way thing going on, all messing about and talking shit about Nook.
Then, yesterday, I’ve started plating Starlink on my Switch. So far, I’m maybe about 4 hours in and I can’t be the only one that thinks this is what I expected No Man’s Sky to be like – but with the StarFox license, which I must say, is done and handled very well so far.
If you’re a fan of Star Fox, I strongly recommend taking a look at this.
There’s loads to do it seems and flopping between planets, making friends, collecting resources, discovering abandoned bases, finding upgrades and levelling up is decent.
I bought the physical starter pack, which came with the Arwing model, Fox McCloud character, a thermal cannon and an Ice rocket set.
The models are great, very nice in fact and the Joy-Con holder that holds the model as well doubles as a stand, so in effect, when you’re not playing with the model, it sits very nicely on a shelf.
So far, I’ve only played in handheld mode, without the model, the resolution is a bit low and things suffer from a large amount of pop in and sort of checkering effect but I’m 4 hours in and apart from noticing it, it still runs smoothly and isn’t too much of an enjoyment vacuum. This is perhaps another example though of the text being small on the screen of the Switch when in handheld mode, the same sort of thing Very Doom and darkest Dungeon suffered from on Nintendo’s system.
Tonight, I’m going to try it on the big screen and see what the difference is.
It’s good so far, I’m enjoying it.
During my nice little break to Amsterdam of which I only took my 3DS, I played some games of an evening and during my time in the airport, I also managed to pick up a few Streetpasses on the occasion I threw my 3DS into my bag on our jaunts around the city.
I’m still playing Super Princess Peach and I’m into the last world, I’ve not collected all of the toads from each of the levels mind and still have quite a number of items to buy still in the shop. Once I’ve beaten the last level, I’m going to dip into the mini games and puzzle pieces I’ve been unlocking while progressing through the game and see what that is all about.
It's a very strange game, it feels like a game from a much older time but with slightly more modern elements sort of bolted on and the way they handle Peach and her actions is odd to say the least. It’s fun though and Perry, her Parasol, is fun. Almost a precursor to Shovel Knights shovel.
I was sure getting some funny looks on the plane playing this mind, as its very bright, very pink and very princessy – I didn’t GAF though.
As well as this I’m also very much enjoying playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf again, this time more in the sense of a quick half an hour each day before bed. We’ve also taken advantage of the Nintendo Selects range and picked up another copy of the game from Argos for £13.99 which my wife is playing on her 3DS and we’re chatting and playing with each other. Incidentally, I have friend who has just bought a 3DS for the first time and is playing through a few recommendations but has latterly set up camp playing New Leaf, so in effect we have a bit of a 3-way thing going on, all messing about and talking shit about Nook.
Then, yesterday, I’ve started plating Starlink on my Switch. So far, I’m maybe about 4 hours in and I can’t be the only one that thinks this is what I expected No Man’s Sky to be like – but with the StarFox license, which I must say, is done and handled very well so far.
If you’re a fan of Star Fox, I strongly recommend taking a look at this.
There’s loads to do it seems and flopping between planets, making friends, collecting resources, discovering abandoned bases, finding upgrades and levelling up is decent.
I bought the physical starter pack, which came with the Arwing model, Fox McCloud character, a thermal cannon and an Ice rocket set.
The models are great, very nice in fact and the Joy-Con holder that holds the model as well doubles as a stand, so in effect, when you’re not playing with the model, it sits very nicely on a shelf.
So far, I’ve only played in handheld mode, without the model, the resolution is a bit low and things suffer from a large amount of pop in and sort of checkering effect but I’m 4 hours in and apart from noticing it, it still runs smoothly and isn’t too much of an enjoyment vacuum. This is perhaps another example though of the text being small on the screen of the Switch when in handheld mode, the same sort of thing Very Doom and darkest Dungeon suffered from on Nintendo’s system.
Tonight, I’m going to try it on the big screen and see what the difference is.
It’s good so far, I’m enjoying it.
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
Still playing the same stuff I've been on lately. A few new things but I don't want to spend too long on them, as I've got other stuff I want to talk more about. Still having a lot of fun with Forza Horizon 4. It seems that Goliath race actually was the "end" of the game after all, as I haven't found anything else new of substance to be frank. The game is beginning to fizzle out a bit. A consequence of the lack of structure I suppose. Not knowing where the end is makes it come to a stop with a bit of a drawn-out whimper rather than a bang. Not that my overall opinions have changed. Still a great game. Oh, and I also should have unlocked all the achievements too, but the last one is glitched and won't unlock. So that's fun. Also still playing CrossCode on and off. Still at the same dungeon I was at before. I'm getting towards the end of it, but I'm stuck on a certain puzzle. This game gets really hard quite frequently. This particular puzzle just has me totally stumped. No idea where to even start with it. Probably going to try to look up help for this one, although from looking in to that before, it seems there's not much help out there on the internet right now.
But as for other things, I've given Planet Alpha a go. For a while I've been wanting something new to play on the Switch, and this is one of a handful of games I've had my eye on. Had a minor sale so I decided to jump in. But frankly I'm getting buyer's remorse with this one. It does have a fantastic visual design to it. Amazing environments to look at as you go through the game. Also has a dynamic time of day system that looks very pretty too, with even parts of the levels changing with different conditions. Plants opening up in the day and closing at night, etc. But the gameplay though is just awful. It's a 2.5D puzzle platformer type thing, and it feels absolutely awful to control. The jumps are really floaty and feel very inaccurate and unreliable. So many deaths have been from failing a jump that I feel like I should have been able to reach. Puzzle design is also kind of bad. A lot of it is working out how to sneak past or take out enemies that are blocking your way. Except it doesn't feel reliable telling when exactly it is safe to move. It's even hard to tell when an enemy is actually in your path sometimes, as the perspective and level design doesn't make it clear exactly what your path forward is, and what is slightly in the foreground or background. Similarly, the game occasionally likes to put loads of foliage and stuff in front of the camera so you can't even see yourself on the screen in some crucial moments. There are also a few action/escape segments where you're running away from some large enemy as it tries to squish you. Often these end up being annoying trial-and-error, as you can't really predict where they are going to burst out from the background next and stomp you before you have time to react. So even though this game is very pretty, playing it is a slog that I just couldn't take any more of after a while. Big disappointment.
Also jumped back in to Darksiders 2 again after finishing replaying the first, and in anticipation of the third. I realised I was really close to getting all the achievements on this one, so I thought it would be fun to clear that up, even if no one cares about Steam achievements. So this time through I'm playing on "Deathinitive" difficulty. The fourth of the five modes. Not sure if this was newly added in for this version of the game, or if they just renamed an already existing mode. Probably the former. This is the last achievement, as there isn't one for the hardest most, strangely. The game does end up being quite a lot more demanding in combat in this mode, but is still feels doable in general. I also suspect it might get easier the further I get in, with getting new gear and such. I'm already noticing that from what I've played so far. This PC version really is a buggy mess though (that still hasn't been properly patched, although I gave up expecting it would a long time ago). There is one achievement in this game which I think is supposed to be the equivalent of a platinum trophy, in that it's one they just give you once you get all the others. It just randomly popped when I was doing something completely unrelated, for no reason. So even though I still have that one last achievement to get, I've technically already got the "last" one anyway. It's odd. I also realised something very dumb I was missing for a long time. I always thought this game was simply poorly optimised and had certain areas that just simply couldn't reach a solid 60fps. But then I just happened to turn down the shadow quality one notch from max in one of those areas, and it was completely fixed. It's so dumb I never realised that before that I can't believe I never did. I must have discovered it at some point before, given how much I've played and struggled with this game's performance before, and just somehow forgot for years.
But as for other things, I've given Planet Alpha a go. For a while I've been wanting something new to play on the Switch, and this is one of a handful of games I've had my eye on. Had a minor sale so I decided to jump in. But frankly I'm getting buyer's remorse with this one. It does have a fantastic visual design to it. Amazing environments to look at as you go through the game. Also has a dynamic time of day system that looks very pretty too, with even parts of the levels changing with different conditions. Plants opening up in the day and closing at night, etc. But the gameplay though is just awful. It's a 2.5D puzzle platformer type thing, and it feels absolutely awful to control. The jumps are really floaty and feel very inaccurate and unreliable. So many deaths have been from failing a jump that I feel like I should have been able to reach. Puzzle design is also kind of bad. A lot of it is working out how to sneak past or take out enemies that are blocking your way. Except it doesn't feel reliable telling when exactly it is safe to move. It's even hard to tell when an enemy is actually in your path sometimes, as the perspective and level design doesn't make it clear exactly what your path forward is, and what is slightly in the foreground or background. Similarly, the game occasionally likes to put loads of foliage and stuff in front of the camera so you can't even see yourself on the screen in some crucial moments. There are also a few action/escape segments where you're running away from some large enemy as it tries to squish you. Often these end up being annoying trial-and-error, as you can't really predict where they are going to burst out from the background next and stomp you before you have time to react. So even though this game is very pretty, playing it is a slog that I just couldn't take any more of after a while. Big disappointment.
Also jumped back in to Darksiders 2 again after finishing replaying the first, and in anticipation of the third. I realised I was really close to getting all the achievements on this one, so I thought it would be fun to clear that up, even if no one cares about Steam achievements. So this time through I'm playing on "Deathinitive" difficulty. The fourth of the five modes. Not sure if this was newly added in for this version of the game, or if they just renamed an already existing mode. Probably the former. This is the last achievement, as there isn't one for the hardest most, strangely. The game does end up being quite a lot more demanding in combat in this mode, but is still feels doable in general. I also suspect it might get easier the further I get in, with getting new gear and such. I'm already noticing that from what I've played so far. This PC version really is a buggy mess though (that still hasn't been properly patched, although I gave up expecting it would a long time ago). There is one achievement in this game which I think is supposed to be the equivalent of a platinum trophy, in that it's one they just give you once you get all the others. It just randomly popped when I was doing something completely unrelated, for no reason. So even though I still have that one last achievement to get, I've technically already got the "last" one anyway. It's odd. I also realised something very dumb I was missing for a long time. I always thought this game was simply poorly optimised and had certain areas that just simply couldn't reach a solid 60fps. But then I just happened to turn down the shadow quality one notch from max in one of those areas, and it was completely fixed. It's so dumb I never realised that before that I can't believe I never did. I must have discovered it at some point before, given how much I've played and struggled with this game's performance before, and just somehow forgot for years.
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
Seen as Halloween is coming and I am a sadist I have started another playthrough of Alien Isolation.
The opening is still a bit slow but the Alien's introduction is still as nerve shredding as ever.
The sound design and atmosphere are still as perfect now as the first time I played it and yeah it is still terrifying!. I wish they would do a VR update for it even though it would probably be the end of me!.
I have noticed it is on sale at the moment on the playstation store so pick it up if you have never played it.
The opening is still a bit slow but the Alien's introduction is still as nerve shredding as ever.
The sound design and atmosphere are still as perfect now as the first time I played it and yeah it is still terrifying!. I wish they would do a VR update for it even though it would probably be the end of me!.
I have noticed it is on sale at the moment on the playstation store so pick it up if you have never played it.
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
I was toying with Alien Isolation as a potential play but opted for Evil Within instead. Maybe one day i'll pluck up the courage to try it.
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
How are you finding it? I thought the gameplay lacked ‘bottom’, and I kind of blamed the cardgame-like events as I found them inconsequential, or maybe I didn’t understand what I was supposed to get out of them. The game may have been improved since release though.
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KSubzero1000
- Member
- Posts: 3365
- Joined: August 26th, 2015, 9:56 pm
- Location: Germany
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
It just dawned on me that I've played almost nothing other than various DMC games for the last month or so, including 100+ hours on DMC3 alone. Currently near the end of my DMC4 playthrough and I'm having a lot of fun, although it doesn't really reach the numerous heights of 3 for my money. The level design is the biggest culprit here; not only are the levels being shamelessly re-used over the course of the game, but they're also not that great to begin with due to their bland aesthetics and cramped / unintuitive layouts. Enemy readability / balance is also an issue.
With all that said, the core combat system is absolutely legendary and worth the price of admission alone. Front-loading the game with the powerful and beginner-friendly Nero is an inspired directorial choice that probably helped with introducing newcomers to the series. Dantay on the other hand... oh, my. Slicing through foes like a hot Rebellion through buttah, he's an absolute joy to control. And I say that even though I'm only using about half of his equipment. If DMCV continues on that trend, we might very well end up with one of the greatest player-controllable characters in gaming.
Now, back to sweating and cursing and catching S ranks. Send help if you don't hear from me within a week.
With all that said, the core combat system is absolutely legendary and worth the price of admission alone. Front-loading the game with the powerful and beginner-friendly Nero is an inspired directorial choice that probably helped with introducing newcomers to the series. Dantay on the other hand... oh, my. Slicing through foes like a hot Rebellion through buttah, he's an absolute joy to control. And I say that even though I'm only using about half of his equipment. If DMCV continues on that trend, we might very well end up with one of the greatest player-controllable characters in gaming.
Now, back to sweating and cursing and catching S ranks. Send help if you don't hear from me within a week.
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stvnorman
- Member
- Posts: 911
- Joined: March 19th, 2013, 8:09 pm
- Location: Keysoe, Bedfordshire, UK
- Contact:
Re: Whatcha Been Playing?
Making good progress through Mega Man 3 now the first two are out of the way. More of the same but the new gameplay mechanics feel great and this one is a real looker too.
As is Destiny 2. I’m playing the Vanilla PS+ version, well into the campaign, and trying very hard not to get as addicted to as I did the original. Just finding it a bit disjointed when trying to focus on the campaign - seems like they want you to do everything but play through the story, which there’s probably good reason for...
Over the last few weeks I’ve also been plodding through the original Legend of Zelda on the NES Classic Mini. It’s my first time playing it, and for all its little faults in the eyes of a modern gamer, I absolutely love it! I just finished my second dungeon, and it’s really grabbed me now, to the point I’m wondering if I should start again so I can play it any time on the much easier to access Switch version. But as tempted as I am, I reckon if I finish it on the Mini I’ll have had my money’s worth out of if.
As is Destiny 2. I’m playing the Vanilla PS+ version, well into the campaign, and trying very hard not to get as addicted to as I did the original. Just finding it a bit disjointed when trying to focus on the campaign - seems like they want you to do everything but play through the story, which there’s probably good reason for...
Over the last few weeks I’ve also been plodding through the original Legend of Zelda on the NES Classic Mini. It’s my first time playing it, and for all its little faults in the eyes of a modern gamer, I absolutely love it! I just finished my second dungeon, and it’s really grabbed me now, to the point I’m wondering if I should start again so I can play it any time on the much easier to access Switch version. But as tempted as I am, I reckon if I finish it on the Mini I’ll have had my money’s worth out of if.